The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program by the inventor. This new variety, hereinafter referred to as ‘HOMLEE’, was discovered as a seedling resulting from a pollination of Rhododendron ‘Princess Ruth’, unpatented with an unnamed, unpatented Rhododendron oldhamii by the inventor, Robert Edward Lee, in Independence, La., at a research nursery.
After identifying the new variety as a potentially interesting selection, the inventor first organized propagation of ‘HOMLEE’ by vegetative cuttings during 2004 at the same commercial nursery in Independence, La. The inventor continued confidential, controlled testing and propagation, assessing stability of the unique characteristics of this variety. Multiple generations have been reproduced and have shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.